Personal Bio for Donna Schilder

One thing that makes me unique is my varied life experience. I haven’t exactly been a Couch Potato. I’ve failed at more things than most people ever think of trying. And, I’ve succeeded.

I am not your typical American. I have broken the mold of the typical American lifestyle. In my over 50 years on the planet, I have traveled at least 3 years of it. My husband and I traveled 5 months a year for 5 years and made more money in the other 7 months than we had in previous years. I have been to over 45 countries and 43 states. I taught English in China. Petted Tigers in Thailand. Visited family members in Slovakia that lived before Communism, during Communism, and after Communism in their country. The time I’ve spent observing how different people live, gives me a unique and broad perspective about what the possibilities are in life.

I have held over 20 different types of jobs (from pop singer to Maintenance Manual Validation Specialist for the B-2 Bomber) in 7 industries, and as a consultant for over 10 years I worked with every type of department there is in a company (from HR to Engineering), helping them improve their processes. I know what it’s like not to be in the right job and I can tell you what’s it like to work in a lot of different types of jobs, because I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do. I know what it’s like to have a dream and fail. And get back up time and time again. And dare to dream again.

I’ve had multiple income streams my whole life (before it was popular). Even while I was working at my first job as a 22-year old, doing research for the first reality television show, “That’s Incredible!”, I had a side-business doing copy-editing.

Here is the list of 20 Careers I tried before I found my calling as a Coach (at age 42):